Safety razor



April 19 1938 A. GALBRAITH I 2,114,679

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Sept. 9', 1936 1 Patented A r. 19,1938

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SAFETY RAZOR Alexander Galbraith, Dalmuir, Scotland Applicationseptember 9, 1936, Serial No.'99,9il9

, In Great Britain'ilctcber 2, 1934 v Y Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors, and

has for its primary object to providea safety razor in which the blade may have a resilience comparable with that of the blade of a hollow 5- grouiid razori As is understood, safety razor blades are usually clamped more or less rigidly with considerable deformation, between guard and end cap elements, thus producing a heavy or inert 10 feeling in the use of the razor. In effect, there is probably no existing safety razor which has the (resilience, tang and clean-cutting action experienced with the use of a high quality hollowground razor.

For a safety razor, to give the same satisfaction as a hollow ground razor at its highest point of efficiency, the blademust be afforded considerable freedom, 1. e., the blade must be so mounted. that it has freedom to flex transversely of 0 its plane in at least the direction away from the I guard element. A safety razor blade answering these conditionswill retain its efiiciency much longer than the usual, safety razor blade. Ac-

1 cordingl'y,'over any-given period, renewals are less and economy results,lapart fromthefact that fall the qualities of .a high class hollowground razor are at the disposal of the user,

I without sacrifice of the safety properties.

These requirements are fulfilled by the presa (ent invention, which provides a safety razor having a flexible blade adapted to be accommodated between a guard element and a cap element in. such wise that the blade is free'of. restraint by the cap element for at least the great- I er part of its length or breadth, the, blade'having freedom to flex transversely of its plane in at least the direction away from the guard ele- "ment, within the space between said elements.

, When the blade is held at one end the blade 40 is free to flex cantilever fashion. With the blade held at one or more selected points resilience may be distributed over the blade as desired. Again, the blade may be held locally with v a sliding grip permitting the blade not only to flex 1 transversely of its plane but to perform limited sliding movements in its own plane. Further, inthe latter case, the. blade may be free also to perform angular and/or orbital movements in its own plane.

5 Adjustable blade-engaging or movement restraining means may be so arranged and distributed as to give any desired resilience to the ,blade. 7

In addition, where the blade is restrained at I 55 one or more points, variations in resilience, from the guard and end cap elements, while, at the 10' same time, the greater part of the blade is free to flex transversely of its plane between the said elements; a g

(b) means for adjusting the freedom afforded to the blade to flex transversely of its plane, said 1 5,

means permittingthe blade to be gripped cantilever fashion at either end, 'or to be gripped 10-;

cally at a point or points shiftable to distribute the permissible resilience, with a positive grip or n a sliding grip; p 6 (0) means for adjusting the extent of the cutting edge or each cutting edge of the razor blade behind the guard and/orend cap elements,

The blade may be held positively or with a sliding grip at one end, and while so held may 5 yet have some degree of freedom at that end:

' between the guard and end cap elements, and.

the permissible floating movement of the blade between the said elements greater at the'other end. l

Again, the blade may be held at two points on the same side of a median line parallel to the edges of the blade, corresponding totwo of the points indicated above, and again may have such degree of freedom as is permitted by the spac- '3 ing of the guard and end cap elements.

Again, the blade may be held only at a point located centrally of the blade, or in intermediate positions, between the centre'and either end, with adjustable floating movement at either end, 40 as before.

The blade movements described may be obtained singly or in combination as desired by the user, it being understood that any one setting of the blade may suit a particular strength 45 of beard and that strong beards will require less give or resilience of blade than soft beards.

The invention is. illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figs. 1 and 2 are a vertical section and a plan view, respectively, showing,

by way of example only, a practical construction of a safety razor head. Fig. 3is a side elevation showing the razor head connected to a handle. I I

In the construction shown the cap 6 is adju'stably connected to the guard 2 by a screw 'l pene-v trating the guard 2, the cap. 6 being tiltable on the ball headof the screw 1 so that it may be adjusted universally relatively to the guard 2. 1A:

spaced pair'of micrometer screws 8, 9 threaded I upwardly through bosses It on the guard 2 present at their upper ends pintles H, 52 engaging arcuate slots [3, l4 in-the cape, the slots I3, M being concentric with the screw 1, so that the cap 6 may be adjusted angularly, aboutthe' axis of'the screw 7. 'The screws I, 8 and S penetrate a slot in the blade 3, the screws 8, 9 presenting collars I6, I! where they penetrate the the slot H5. The screws 8, 9 are formed beyond the collars with laterally projecting tongues l8, I9 engageable selectively with the blade 3 or with the cap 6. g v

The handle may be in the form of an internally threaded, tube fitted to the free end por for the blade, in all of which; the blade is free to,

tion of the screw 1.

By suitable adjustment of the screw :3 theb1ade'3 maybe nipped against the guard 2 by the tongue is while the screw 8 may be adjusted, with the tongue l9 bearing against the inner face of the cap 6 to vary the range through which the blade is free to flex. i V

The angular setting of the tongues l8, l9 also affects the resiliency of the blade by virtue of the eccentricity of the tongues l 8, ea V The blade may be so lightly held that it is free to slide in its, own p1ane.

' It will be obvious from the foregoing that there exists a wide variety of settings and adjustments fiex'in the'direction away from the guard 2. h

It will be seen that the tongues i8, i5 are engageable selectively with the undersideof the cap 6 whereby to exercise control of the position of the cap 5 relatively to the guard 2, the cap 6 being pull-ed towards the guard 2 by the screw; 1. Manifestly, the blade may be;gripped at one end or the other between the guard and the cap which are maintained in spaced relation at the free end of the blade by the tongue adjacent thereto.

Manifestly, the blade may be gripped at or near' or along one longitudinal edge, so. that it may betilte d out of its plane to .a variable angle widthwise' between the guard and end cap' ele ments. A handle 20 maybe secured to the razor head by screwing it onto the projecting end of the screw 1, as shown inFig S I claim: V 1 In a safety razor; in combination, a guard, a

cap, means for spacing the guard from the cap throughout at least a portion of the length thereof, said space being greater than the thickness of a blade to be positioned between said guard and cap, a blade between said guard and cap, said blade having a portion extending into said space and free to move toward and away from said guard, and means for fixing a portion of the blade longitudinally of saidfree portion against movement toward and away from the guard.

'2. In a safety razor, in combination, guard and cap elements, meansfor maintaining said guard and cap elements at least partially spaced apart a distancegreaterthan the thickness of a blade to be accommodated between said elements, a flexible apertured blade accommodated between said elements, means penetrating said blade and adjustably connecting saidlelements for per-' mitting relative angular adjustment of said elements and means engaging said bladeqat selectable points to maintain 'a part thereof fixed "against movement'toward and away from said elements and for controlling the-freedom of another part of the blade to fle x within the, space I between said elements.

3. In a safety razor, in combination, guard and cap elements, a flexible lslotted'blade'ac a flexible apertured blade accommodated be tween said elements, means penetrating said blade and adjustably connecting said elements for permitting relative angular adjustment of saidelements, and means engageable with said blade at selectable points between its ends to maintain a part thereof fixed against movement toward and away from saidelements and for controlling the freedom of another part of the blade to flex-Within the space between said elements.

5. In a safety razor, in combinatiomguard and 7 cap elements, a flexible apertured blade accommodated between said elementaa screw -pene-,

, trating said blade and adjustably connectingjsaid elements for permitting relative" angular; adjustment. of, said elements, and means .engageable with one face of said blade andwith'the adjacent face of one of said elements, said means being adjustable to vary the point of engagement with psaid blade and to varyla dihedral angle contained "between said elements by movement of the 'portion of the element engagedv thereby with respect 7 to the other -element to a greater extent than the remaining portion thereof. ALEXANDER GALBRAITH. 

